Scope of Work

South Sudan Rapid Education and Risk Analysis (RERA)

Background The RERA will align with USAID/South Sudan’s new ‘Way Forward’ plan. This plan aims to more closely link humanitarian assistance with conflict and development assistance programming to strengthen community resilience and help communities become more conflict resistant. In addition, the Mission will continue its focus on supporting inclusive peace processes at the community level, in hopes that such interventions will ultimately fuel the successful implementation of the August 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (hereafter, referred to as the Peace Agreement), improving communities’ ability to manage their internal conflicts peacefully, and strengthen dialogue and social cohesion across lines of division.

Rationale for building resilience and enabling peace through education

Functional schools and the delivery of broad social services in bringing together members of diverse communities are often identified as key contributors to recovery and reconciliation

processes in conflict-affected settings. However, education and other social services promoting unity and cohesion may not necessarily be equitably provided, and they may actually contribute to further inequity and exclusion. While program responses to diversity and conflict represent opportunities to address the legacies of violence and contribute to (re)building relationships and trust, it is evident that programs can unintentionally affirm or exclude diverse groups and cause harm. For example, programs may leave out certain identity groups, allow certain forms of violence to continue unnoticed and even reinforce patterns of inequity that contribute to pressures for continued conflict. Among the 11.1 million conflict-affected South Sudanese, there are 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 7 million facing food insecurity. And much like displaced children and families elsewhere, there is a lack of access to basic services and learning opportunities that result from a multitude of issues that are inherent in the nature of displacement and exposure to violence. These include loss of a family’s livelihood, breakdown of the social fabric and community support systems, and exposure to varying levels of direct and indirect violence. The increased pressure on the education and social service systems resulting from hosting IDPs and negative perceptions of “outsiders” exacerbate inter-group tension, stigma and possible harm when an increasing number of people arrive in a community or protected site seeking refuge, assistance, a sense of normalcy and the right basic services. In South Sudan, education system policies and curriculum have the potential to (re)produce patterns of cultural violence, by utilizing a particular languages of instruction, validating particular versions of history and citizenship, and focusing on ‘productive’ economic activities that are not aligned with the economic and cultural priorities of diverse communities. Areas for investigation for the RERA may include looking broadly at community-level education and social sectors so as to limit inequities that affect social cohesion at the community level. For example, teachers, in addition to students, may experience inequities due to fragmented recruitment and management approaches, ‘localised’ deployment in remote counties or payams, salary disparities between sectors (e.g. security versus education). Disparities can also emerge based on differences between national- and state-level teachers, permanent and contract teachers, and language differences (English versus Arabic). Other inequities are related to the geographic, ethnic, and socio-economic groups that affect all social service provision in the country. The rapid education and risk analysis (RERA) is an exercise that offers a more in-depth view into the community-level dynamics of conflict and how they interact with education and other basic services. Through data collection and analysis this exercise will help clarify key activities that will promote the provision of conflict-sensitive basic services (e.g. water supply, nutrition, and protection services in and around schools) to support recovery, with resilience and identify key activities that will mitigate the effects of past violence and enable future peace.

Rapid Education and Risk Analysis (RERA) Description

The USAID/South Sudan Education Team is currently in the process of developing an integrated program that responds to the USAID Global Education Strategy’s Goal 3: increased equitable

access to education in crisis and conflict environments for 15 million learners. This USAID/South Sudan program will target six (6) geographic focus areas: Upper Nile, Unity, Jonglei in the North, and Lakes, Central and Western Equatoria in the South as well as pastoralist communities in any of these six (6) geographic focus areas. This program is aligned with the Mission’s revised Operational Framework Transitional Objectives, which are:

(1) Promote recovery by facilitating community-led response, delivering critical services, and strengthening livelihoods and resilience to shocks; and

2) Enable lasting peace through support to an inclusive peace process, strengthening inter- and intra-communal relations and reconciliation, and improving mechanisms for conflict management.

In order to ensure that the the Mission’s education interventions are conflict-sensitive, the USAID/South Sudan Mission will conduct a Rapid Education and Risk Analysis (RERA) to inform the design, implementation, and program assumptions of the portfolio. The RERA uses a flexible, conflict-sensitive approach to understanding the education and learning context in each location where USAID/South Sudan works. RERA data collection and analysis will help determine the scale, scope, and tailored intervention for each state. IDP concentration, a lead criteria for selecting initial communities, will be a key factor in shaping interventions. The specific details of the interventions will vary as needed. In some instances IDPs have integrated quickly into homes of friends, relatives or other extended family and nearby local, formal schools. On other cases, girls, boys, youth and their families find themselves residing in POC sites or camps set up for displaced persons without formal schools available. In some cases there may be non-formal schools functioning in these POC sites or camps. Education programming options might include center-based learning for IDPs, particularly for those concentrated in urban centers and POC sites or in large urban centers. In semi-urban areas, with high numbers of IDPs, the data may recommend an extra shift be added. Learning in existing schools may be most appropriate for IDP learners to gain access to quality education close to where they live. If this requires them to attend school alongside host learners and classroom space is insufficient, additional inputs will be added for the intervention to deal with tensions that could arise across IDP and non-IDP learners.

Other types of communities may demand establishing a temporary structure for alternative learning. Alternative learning has been defined as, ‘A flexible age-appropriate program that promotes access to education in an accelerated time-frame for disadvantaged groups, over-age out-of-school children and youth who missed out or had their education interrupted due to poverty, marginalisation, conflict and crisis’. In general, the goal of an Alternative Education Program (AEP) is to provide learners with equivalent certified competencies for basic education and learning approaches that match their level of cognitive maturity. IDP learners who have not integrated yet may find community acceptance of IDPs is low or high. To understand and improve these relationships, a dialogue-based set of inter-faith or inter-ethnic activities may be most appropriate.

Teaching social and emotional competencies alongside reading, literacy and numeracy offers a combined conflict-sensitive package of learning that can have an appropriate scope and sequence based upon the location, age, needs, displacement history and other crisis-related factors that may impact learning outcomes. Overall, a broad based analyses will support a flexible approach to tailored learning options and phasing-in of activities over time. The RERA will provide an in-depth snapshot of the education sector in the current environment of South Sudan. Further details on the RERA tool can be found in the draft RERA guide here: http://eccnetwork.net/wp-content/uploads/USAID-RERA-v1.pdf.

Illustrative Process for Conducting a high quality RERA

PRE-PLANNING

Step 1: Build buy-

in for conducting

a RERA

Step 2: Define

responsibilities

and coordination

roles

Step 3: Collect

pre-crisis data

Step 4: Agree on

purpose & scope

of RERA

PLANNING AND

ORGANIZING

Step 5:

Determine

information

requirements

Step 6: Select

assessment

sites and

sources

Step 7: Form

and train

assessment

teams

Step 8: Develop

the fieldwork

plans

CONDUCTING

FIELD WORK

Step 9: Collect

in-crisis

secondary

data

Step 10:

Collect

primary data

Step 11:

Supervise,

support, and

review quality

of data

collection

ANALYSING

THE DATA

Step 12:

Triangulate

and cross

check data

Step 13:

Compile and

summarize

data

Step 14:

Analyze data

with broad

stakeholders

Step 15:

Interpret

assessment

findings and

write draft

report

USING THE

FINDINGS

Step 16:

Document and

share

assessment

findings with

populations

Step 17: Use

assessment

findings to

design

program

Step 18: Store

and manage

assessment

information in

local database

Step 19:

Update

assessment

information

every six

months

Purpose, Audience, and Intended Uses

The purpose of the RERA for South Sudan is:

● To gain a deeper understanding of the impact of the conflict on South Sudanese

children, their schools, communities, and the education system.

● To determine risks associated with implementing programs, and inform risk mitigation

strategies where appropriate.

● To map the availability of currently available formal, non-formal, alternative and other

learning options for girls, boys and youth.

● To understand the perceptions of equitable educational access of children, parents,

community leaders, and other education actors in the targeted locations.

The audience for the South Sudan RERA is primarily USAID/South Sudan and USAID

implementing partners, and secondarily, the larger donor community, government, and other

relevant stakeholders.

Note on the section below: We have tools that are very specific, using a likert scale and are not open ended at all - just did not want

to introduce all this detail here. We have a clear methodology just trying not to be too directive in the

scope - happy to attach tools if needed. It can be 2 weeks -2 months, depends on method we use - more

remote or more individual interviews. Tbd.

Study Questions

● How does conflict and crisis affect learners, the education system, and the wider

community?

● How has the education system affected risks, particularly in relation to inter- and intra-

communal violence?

● What does social cohesion mean to education stakeholders and the wider community?

Describe when it works well? When it doesn’t work?

● How does education influence social cohesion, if at all?

● Who within the community are responsible for peacemaking and monitoring the peace?

How does education influence peace?

● What are the sources of social cohesion and resilience among learners, out-of-school, IDP,

and host children and youth, the education system, and the wider communities?

● What are education capacities and gaps, especially those relating to out-of-school children

and youth?

● What should be considered in a program strategy that delivers access to quality education

for all and that does not contribute to vulnerabilities and conflict?

● How has the conflict impacted access to quality education for pastoralist communities?

● What are the risks associated with language mapping and paying incentives for volunteer

teachers in South Sudan? How can these risks be mitigated?

● How do communal groups (e.g. identity, traditional, other) interact at the community level?

If so, how do they interact positively? Negatively?

In addition to these general inquiries, the RERA will investigate key categories such as (1) access

and learning environment (2) teaching and learning (3) teachers and other education personnel

(4) education policy (5) community participation (6) coordination. Prior and similar exercises in

other countries can be referenced as per below reports and tools;

❖ Joint Education Needs Assessment Toolkit (IASC Education Cluster, 2009)

❖ Rapid Education and Risk Assessment, Mali (USAID Education in Conflict and Crisis

Network, 2016)

❖ Community Education and Conflict Assessment in Northern Nigeria (USAID, DEC)

The contractor may suggest revisions to these questions in consultation with USAID. Final study

questions must be approved by USAID before the contractor can conduct the RERA.

Data Disaggregation

The contractor must develop data disaggregation by sex, age and status (displaced, non-

displaced, vulnerable) and responds to the geographic scope and populations in the final SOW.

Research Designs and Methodologies

The contractor must propose an appropriate design and methodology for conducting the RERA,

based on the following guidelines:

General Approach: A rapid analysis process integrates key elements of contextual risk analysis

(crisis, conflict, disaster risk) with a rapid education assessment for “good enough” risk and

education situation analysis to capture general information about how education systems,

learners and their communities interact with a dynamic, multiple risk environment, and how

those risks interact (for example, at the school level, at the community level, at the municipal

level). Building on existing approaches to data collection for education systems in conflict-

affected environments is highly recommended. For example, it may include references to key

categories of investigating educational equity, access to appropriate learning, quality and key

competencies in conflict-affected settings, key barriers to learning, protective features in

education, role in social cohesion and peacebuilding, etc.

Data collection and analysis: Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and

analyzed but the RERA’s unique insight is often derived from in-depth analysis of qualitative

data. Sources of information will include secondary sources as well as primary sources (via

interviews, focus groups and/or observations at the national level). Efforts to collect primary

data at the subnational level shall be explored to the extent possible.

Data is to be collected at two stages: (1) an exhaustive desk review of existing secondary data,

and (2) primary data collection as appropriate to address gaps identified in the desk review. The

scope of primary data needed will be determined by the desk review. The contractor should

develop key informant interview and focus group questions as well as surveys or questionnaires

as appropriate that will respond to the above study questions.

Strengths and Limitations

The design of the RERA requires making deliberate trade-offs between speed and rigor. The

RERA is not research, but a specific type of situational analysis that informs decisions about

strategy and programming. The contractor must elaborate on the strengths and limitations of

its proposed design and methodology for the RERA based on anticipated security concerns,

sample size, and time limitations.

Activity Tasks and Deliverables

Task Deliverables Due Date to

USAID for review

Task 1: Carry out

focused discussion

with USAID,

implementing partners,

host government and

other stakeholders to

inform research

questions and provide

input into the SOW

● Work plan with proposed methodology for

holding input workshop consultations to

ascertain most useful research questions

● Draft revisions to SOW submitted for USAID

feedback

● Final SOW reflective of input gathered and

submitted to USAID

● Within two (2)

week of award

Task 2: Conduct

Secondary Data

Collection/Desk Review

● Work plan with proposed methodology for

obtaining secondary data to answer research

questions including:

- desk review (conducted before

developing primary data collection

schedule),

- draft analysis plan

● Conduct Secondary Data Collection

● Draft Desk Review

● Within two (2)

weeks of award

● Within three (3)

weeks of award

Task 3: Develop

Primary Data collection

Tools and Work Plan

● Work plan with proposed methodology for

obtaining primary data to answer research

questions including:

- primary data collection schedule (based

on information gaps identified by desk

review) and;

- draft analysis plan

- Interview protocol and questions

- List of potential interviews, focus group

discussions, and site visits

● Feedback plan to relevant stakeholders

including donors and/or government officials

● Data collection tools submitted, reviewed and

approved by USAID

● Within four (4)

weeks of award

Task 4: Train Data

Collection Teams

● Train teams on purpose and use of the

RERA

● 3-5 days

● Adaptation, contextualization of the tools

● Ethics of research - advance planning,

safety, bias, etc.

● Active learning on tool use, simulated

focus groups

● Consider translation needs

● Daily logs in addition to data

● Safety plan (referrals, resources)

Task 5: Conduct

Primary Data Collection

● Complete Primary Data Collection

● Design data hosting site for uploading

● Data review and cleaning conducted

● Data frequency tables developed and shared

● Convene data analysis workshop with key

stakeholders

● Within six (8)

weeks of award

Task 6: Analyze Data &

Share Preliminary

Findings

● Draft report with preliminary analysis

● Timeline for final report and dissemination

● Draft findings and recommendations shared

with USAID and key implementing partners to

solicit feedback for final report

● Within three (3)

weeks of

completion of

data collection

Task 7 : Disseminate

Report and Analysis

Results

● Final Report

● Dissemination plan for relevant government

officials, donors, NGOs for final RERA utilizing

ECCN

● Final presentation PPT

● Workshop or Webinar for relevant

stakeholders

● Share open data with Mission for use in

ongoing, similar analyses

● Within five (5)

weeks of

completion of

data collection

Team Composition The contractor will assemble an analysis team with the appropriate competencies to carry out the RERA. The analysis team is responsible for conducting the desk and field portions of the activity to gather data; analyzing data; and producing the analysis report. The contractor may propose the structure of the analysis team, but at least one member must have a minimum of

five (5) years of experience in designing and conducting risk analyses, such as conflict analysis, resilience analysis, disaster analysis, or similar assessments. The team should include local and international members, and at a minimum have two (2) members. The contractor should propose a diverse team to ensure conflict-sensitivity and allow for greatest access to data, broad analytical perspectives and skill. The analysis team must have these core competencies:

● Extensive experience in basic education, particularly in crisis and conflict contexts ● Applied experience designing and conducting risk analyses or similar assessments ● Fluency with statistical/econometric analysis ● Understanding of the South Sudan context, particularly conflict dynamics ● Excellent team management and interpersonal skills ● Strong research and writing skills

Specific roles for the analysis team may include a combination of the following:

➢ Team Leader (suggest Jim Rogan) ➢ Education and Risk/Conflict Specialist(s) ➢ Education Specialist(s) ➢ Research Assistants ➢ Data Entry/Cleaning/Reporting Clerks ➢ Enumerators (10- south Sudanese with varied language and geographic expertise)

The Team Leader for the RERA will take full responsibility for managing the team, organizing its work, and ensuring quality control and delivery of a final report acceptable to USAID standards. USAID may assign up to two representatives to participate in the RERA on a part-time basis and in selected trips and/or meetings as part of its plan build staff capacity in monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Work Plan and Logistics

The contractor must propose a work plan and schedule appropriate to conducting the activities described in this SOW to USAID for review and approval. The contractor must deliver an approved final report in February or March 2017. 100,000 - 150,000 USD.

Reporting Requirements

The contractor’s final report must have no more than 30 pages, not including annexes. The report format should be restricted to font 12 Times New Roman, and should be arranged as follows:

1. Executive Summary: Concisely state the purpose of the analysis, most significant findings, conclusions and recommendations (1-3 pages);

2. Table of Contents: (1 page); 3. Introduction: Purpose, audience and research questions: (1 page); 4. Background: Brief overview of the country context and relevant education activities (2

page);

5. Methodology: Describe analysis methods, including sampling strategy, detailed limitations, constraints and gaps (1 page);

6. Findings: summarize the relevant data, highlighting data quality (10 pages) 7. Conclusions/Analysis: synthesis and analysis of data, organized by analysis plan (5-7

pages) 8. Recommendations: detailed, concrete actions for USAID and partners to improve

programming (2 pages) 9. References: (including bibliographical documentation, meetings. Interviews and focus

group discussion); 10. Annexes: annexes that document the analysis SOW, tools, schedules, and interview lists,

and list of tables/charts. Per the USAID Open Data Policy, the analysis team must submit to USAID data sets used in the analysis as indicated in the deliverables section. In addition, the contractor must also submit the final report to the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) and data sets to the Development Data Library (DDL).

Definition of Terms

Accelerated Learning: These are programs that allow youth to complete a number of years of education in a shorter time period—often used in emergency and post-conflict situations. These methods are learner-centered and participatory, and often help learners to discover information and knowledge on their own (Baxter, P. & Bethke, L., 2009, p. 45-46).

Alternative Education: A flexible age-appropriate program that promotes access to education in an accelerated time-frame for disadvantaged groups, over-age out-of-school children and youth who missed out or had their education interrupted due to poverty, marginalisation, conflict and crisis (ECCN, AE Group, 2016). These programs respond to a range of youth development needs, including social integration, crime prevention, democracy building, girl's education, workforce development, and health education, among many others. These programs have been characterized by creativity, and by a profusion of partners from other sectors of government and from civil society, including communities, private business, and volunteers. The approaches and methodologies used are unconventional to the extent that they are usually not part of national education strategies (Siri, C., 2004. P. 2-3).

At-Risk Youth: Youth who face environmental, social, and family conditions that hinder their personal development and their successful integration into society as productive citizens (Cunningham, W., McGinnis, L. Garcia Verdu, R., Tesliuc, C. & Verner, D.; 2008, p. 30).

Basic Education: All program and policy efforts aimed at improving pre-primary education, primary education, and secondary education (delivered in formal or non-formal settings), as well as programs promoting learning for out-of school youth and adults. Basic education includes literacy, numeracy, and other basic skills development for learners (USAID, 2009; p.1).

Formal Education: Education provided in the system of schools, colleges, universities and other formal educational institutions that normally constitutes a continuous ‘ladder’ of full-time

education for children and young people, generally beginning at age five to seven and continuing up to 20 or 25 years old. In some countries, the upper parts of this ‘ladder’ are constituted by organized programs of joint part-time employment and part-time participation in the regular school and university system: such programs have come to be known as the ‘dual system’ or equivalent terms in these countries. Formal education is also referred to as initial education or regular school and university education) (UNESCO, 1997).

Gender Integration: This is a process of identifying and then addressing gender inequalities during strategy and project design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (USAID; 2012b, p. 3).

Internally Displaced Persons: Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of, or in order to, avoid the effects of armed conflicts, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border (Inter- Agency Standing Committee; 2010, p. 508).

Life Skills: These skills (sometimes known as soft skills) fall into three basic categories: (1) social or interpersonal skills (which may include communication, negotiation and refusal skills, assertiveness, cooperation, and empathy); (2) cognitive skills (problem solving, understanding sequences, decision making, critical thinking, and self-evaluation); and (3) emotional coping skills (including positive sense of self) and self-control (managing stress, feelings, and moods). (Naudeau, S., Cunningham, W., Lundberg, M., McGinnis, L.; 2008, p. 81)

Non-Formal Education: Any organized and sustained educational activities that do not correspond exactly to the above definition of formal education. Non-formal education may therefore take place both within and outside educational institutions, and cater to persons of all ages. Depending on country contexts, it may cover educational programs to impart adult literacy, basic education for out-of-school children, life skills, work skills, and general culture. Non-formal education programs do not necessarily follow the “ladder” system, and may have differing duration (UNESCO, 1997).

Peace-Building: Medium- and long-term measures aimed at setting up mechanisms of peaceful conflict management, overcoming the structural causes of violent conflicts, and thereby creating the general conditions in which peaceful and just development can take place (Leonhardt, M.; 2001, p. 8).

Protection: All activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and spirit of the relevant bodies of law, namely human rights law, international humanitarian law, and refugee law (Inter-Agency Standing Committee; 2010, p. 7).

Security: The establishment of a safe and secure environment for the local populace, host nation military, and civilian organizations as well as U.S. Government and coalition agencies, which are conducting stabilization, security, transition, and reconstruction operations & Department of Defense; 2008, p.2).

Stabilization: Activities undertaken to manage underlying tensions; to prevent or halt the deterioration of security, economic, and/or political systems; to create stability in the host nation or region;, and to establish the preconditions for reconstruction efforts (US Joint Forces Command & Department of Defense; 2008, p.2).

Technical/Vocational Training for Employment: The creation and sustenance of career-enhancing education and training programs that are responsive to the current and future labor needs of local, regional, and international employers, both formal and non-formal (USAID, U.S. State Department, Standardized Program Structure and Definitions, 2010).